Letter: Spin doctors keep war machine rolling

The Canadian government’s worst nightmare scenario would be the capture of one of the RCAF pilots currently bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria.

After a Jordanian pilot was captured, ISIS released an elaborately staged propaganda video to show the pilot being burned to death.

The Western media used words like brutal, savage, horrific, and demonic to describe the event. ISIS succeeded in its objectives: intimidating its opponents and publicizing itself.

Vietnam proved the public can not handle the truth about war if they see vivid images of the oozing blood and disemboweled guts. But governments know their military operations depend on the tacit support of the public. Cue the spin doctors.